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Enlarge ImageRequest to buy this photoBrooke LaValley | DispatchA flashing caution sign installed by the Ohio Department of Transportation encourages drivers to slow down on the loop ramp to Rt. 315 from Rt. 270.

The Ohio Department of Transportation is trying to stop rollovers on some Franklin County
highway ramps before they cause lengthy backups.

The department has installed warning signs with blinking lights at 45 loop ramps where cars and
trucks are at risk of tipping or flipping if driven too fast.

ODOT already had signs at the ramps, but the additional warnings are meant to draw more
attention, said spokeswoman Nancy Burton.

“You can put up a static sign or they can see the loop coming, but for some reason, they still
don’t slow down enough,” Mull said.

When semis roll over, the resulting traffic jam ripples outward.

“When that happens, we’ve got to shut it down, and we’ve got to shut it down for hours,” Mull
said.

ODOT’s new signs are designed to warn drivers to slow down before they hit the ramp. Mounted on
reflective plastic posts and on overhead trusses, the yellow signs flash 24 hours a day.

A 270-degree loop graphic shows what kind of ramp it is, and a safe advisory speed is posted
with the sign, Burton said.

ODOT spent about $400,000 on the project. The agency does not have data showing the number of
rollover crashes at loop ramps, Burton said.

Signs are posted at 45 ramps, including I-270 interchanges with Rt. 23 on the South Side, I-70
on the West Side, Rt. 33 in Dublin, and Broad and Main streets on the East Side. Columbus is ringed
by loop ramps around I-270, Burton said.

Yellow and white plastic posts also now outline the ramps to show drivers the direction of the
turn.

The additional signs and posts were installed at ramps where more crashes have occurred, she
said. The last sign was connected last week.

“We saw crashes at these ramps — some of them during inclement weather — and we wanted to take
some steps and felt it was necessary to take some steps to improve safety and make folks aware,”
Burton said.